7 BSP men defect to Cong
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Congress today admitted seven Bahujan Samaj Party, MPs and office-bearers from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh into its fold.

The move was seen as an indication that the possibility of a poll pact or understanding with the BSP in Madhya Pradesh and Delhi for the forthcoming assembly elections was unlikely to take place.

The Congress today announced the admission of Mr Ram Poojan Patel, former general secretary of the BSP, former MP Surender Singh and former minister A.P. Gautam, all from Uttar Pradesh.

From Madhya Pradesh, the entrants include Mr Narsingh Mandal, convener of the BSP’s Chhattisgarh region, Mr S.I. Ali, president of the Raipur city unit, Dr Surender Khera, joint secretary of the BSP, Mr Lakshmani Bharti and Mr Jagtoo Sahai, founder of Satnam Sewa Sangh.

Officially the Congress spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, maintained the party would be guided by the Pachmarhi declaration on alliances.

He reiterated alliances would be struck as a short-term measure only if it was unavoidable, that too on terms set by the Congress as a major partner.

There was, however, no categorical statement on the possibility of an alliance with the BSP.

Efforts have been made during recent days by certain Congress leaders to have a poll pact with the BSP, whose performance in Madhya Pradesh was better than the Congress.

The BSP has large pockets of influence, particularly in the Rewa, Gwalior and Bhind-Morena regions. The MP Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh, had said earlier his mind was open to an alliance with the BSP.

However, there are reports both Mr Digvijay Singh and Mr Sharad Pawar, were in touch with Republican Party of India leader R S Gavai, whose party shares the area of influence with the BSP.

Mr Pawar had entered into a strategic alliance with the RPI in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections which resulted in the Congress securing good results.

The RPI has another faction led by Mr Prakash Ambedkar, who too favours a poll pact with the Congress for MP. The party feels it can contribute significantly in areas bordering MP-Maharashtra.

One of the hurdles of a pact with the BSP is the steep number of seats the party has been demanding. There are reports, the BSP is seeking up to 100 seats of the 320 Assembly seats, while the Congress is not willing to concede more than 20.

Earlier this year, the BSP President, Mr Kanshi Ram, was reportedly unhappy over the manner the Congress had been admitting his party members.

His dislike was particularly more with the re-admission of Mr Arvind Netam, a tribal leader from MP who had left the Congress after Mr P V Narasimha Rao denied him a ticket during 1996 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Netam had joined the BSP and unsuccessfully contested from MP.